Keene, Christopher

Keene, Christopher, prominent American conductor and music administrator; b. Berkeley, Calif., Dec. 21, 1946; d. N.Y., Oct. 8, 1995. He studied piano as a child, and during his high school years conducted several groups; then attended the Univ. of Calif, at Berkeley (1963–67). In 1965 he made his public debut conducting Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in Berkeley; in 1966 he became an asst. conductor at the San Francisco Opera, and in 1967 at the San Diego Opera. In 1968 he made his European debut conducting Menotti’s The Saint of Bleecker Street at the Spoleto (Italy) Festival. He was music director of the American Ballet Co. (1969–70). On Oct. 18, 1970, he made his N.Y.C. Opera debut conducting Ginastera’s Don Ridrigo, and, on Sept. 24, 1971, his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. conducting Cavalleria rusticana. He served as co-music director (1971–73), general manager (1973–75), and music director (1975–76) of the Spoleto Festival; was music director (from 1974) and president (1975–89) of Artpark, the Lewiston, N.Y., summer festival. From 1975 to 1984 he was music director of the Syracuse (N.Y.) Sym. Orch.; also held that title with the Spoleto Festival U.S.A. in Charleston, S.C. (1977–80), and with the Long Island (N.Y.) Phil. (1979–90). He was artistic supervisor (1982–83) and music director (1983–86) of the N.Y.C. Opera, returning there in 1989 as general director. Keene became well known for his championship of rarely heard operas during his years at the N.Y.C. Opera. His career was cut short by AIDS- induced lymphoma.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire